Sun. Dec 8th, 2024

The International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) has opened an investigation into the sexual harassment of one of its female employees by Zambia women’s team coach Bruce Mwabe.

The British newspaper “The Guardian” reported that Moabi is accused of deliberately touching the chest of a FIFA worker during last year’s Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

This is not the first time Mwabe has faced such charges, as FIFA is investigating allegations in August that Mwabe, who is still a Zambian coach and is expected to lead them to this summer’s Olympics, put his hands on a player’s chest after a training session.

The FIFA employee told the Guardian: “I remember he put his hand on my shoulder to say good morning, but he went again and wiped his hand directly from the front, obviously touching my breasts.

“It happened very quickly, I felt it was abnormal, but I also wondered if it was just a mistake as by chance, but then his relationship with me was completely different, so I think he knew what he did was not appropriate,” the employee continued.

Allegations have now surfaced that FIFA has also received a formal complaint against the 64-year-old for touching the chest of a New Zealand FIFA worker who was organizing the tournament and wishes to remain anonymous.

She said she did not want to inform the New Zealand police at the time so as not to disrupt Zambia’s preparations for the tournament, so she decided not to do so, but informed the secretary general of the Zambian Football Association, Robin Kamanga, to investigate the incident.

However, the Zambian Football Association confirmed to the German newspaper “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung”: “We were surprised to hear allegations of harassment by the coach,” and no player or official from the team mission participating in the World Cup filed any complaint with the association.

The federation said recorded footage of the training would prove that no such incident had occurred, but that the federation would take disciplinary action if evidence emerged.

Faouzi Benzarti is the new coach of the Tunisian national football team

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